Measuring religious commonalities : Details from three Internet surveys

This study involves a multi-year, cross-cultural examination of religious commonality. Although tremendous differences exist between East Asian and Western religious cultures, common cross-cultural elements transcend their respective cultural contexts. This study employed three Internet-based religious belief surveys. The first survey was conducted in 2010 in the United States and Japan and consisted of 100 questions. The second survey was conducted in 2014, and consisted of 186 questions, including some selected from the first survey. It was administered in the following eight countries: The United States, Italy, Russia, Turkey, Taiwan, India, Thailand, and Japan. These countries respectively represent the world religions of Protestantism, Catholicism, Greek Orthodoxy, Islam, Taoism, Hinduism, Theravada Buddhism, Mahayana Buddhism, and Shinto. The third survey was conducted among eight countries in 2016 and consisted of 90 questions. Data analysis revealed one common dimensional structure in all eight countries. The first and second survey results allowed researchers to detect questions appropriate for ascertaining commonalities between the United States and Japan and within the eight countries. While a differential item functioning (DIF) analysis detects common items, it was so sensitive that it missed the most possible detectable commonalities when using multiple target countries. Constructing a probability model structure enabled all third-survey data items to be analyzed simultaneously. Although cultural backgrounds differ, the results reveal that the eight countries share a single-dimensional structure containing various religious belief items. Another survey is currently being prepared and researchers expect to have a wider structure that includes the common items of morality and mentality. The wider structure will be either one dimensional or two dimensional